The Daily Populous Tuesday February 18th, 2025 evening edition
Authored by woodcentral.com.au and submitted by PresumedSapient

Giant all-timber and fully recyclable blades – more than 50 metres in size – could tower over wind turbines from late 2026, marking a huge shake-up for the US $100 billion-plus wind energy market. That is according to Voodin Blade Technology, a German start-up that last year tested the world’s first blade made from Stora-Enso laminated veneer lumber (LVL) – a material with a similar stiffness-to-weight ratio to fibreglass to make blades that thrive in all conditions.

Voodin will now team up with Senvion, who will trial the blades on its 4.2MW turbine platform (the largest in the Indian market) – a partnership that “brings our technology to a new scale,” according to Tom Siekmann, Voodin Blade Technology’s CEO – which eliminates the need for moulds, cuts energy consumption in production and slashes CAPEX costs in blade construction.

In 2023, Voodin Blade Technology signed an agreement with PEFC and FSC-certified Stora Enso to supply the laminated veneer lumber for the wooden blades. (Photo Credit: Voodin Blade Technology)

Not only are wooden blades (about) 20% cheaper, but they also solve the “headaches” that come with conventional methods and materials, Mr Siekmann said. Developers, he said, “are desperate” to get their hands on the blades: “The blades are not only an innovative technological advancement but a significant leap toward sustainable wind production.”

Amit Kansal, CEO and Managing Director of Senvion’s Indian division, said the manufacturer will now start evaluating the feasibility of blades, followed by installation and testing of prototype components. Testing will occur towards the end of next year or the start of 2027.

“The strategic alliance will transform the future of wind turbine blade production,” according to Dr PKC Bose, Co-Founder & Managing Director of ENREGO Energy GmbH, one of the partners involved in Voodin’s Blade Technology. “These companies are innovative, creative and flexible and will help our path towards achieving a sustainable world forever.”

Until recently, wind turbine blades were nearly impossible to recycle. Now, one company is shredding the blades for fuel in cement making. But is this the best way to deal with a growing waste problem? Footage courtesy of @BusinessInsider.

Last year, Wood Central reported that Voodin’s blades could also be used in widespread repair and replacement of parts in the fire generation of wind turbines, which need replacement after 25 years of service: “At the end of their lifecycle, most blades are buried in the ground or incinerated. This means that—at this pace—we will end up with 50 million tonnes of blade material waste by 2050,” Mr Siekmann said. “With our solution, we want to help green energy truly become as green as possible.”

Using CNC milling and high-level automation to create complex 3D shapes, Voodin has greater flexibility in blade design “because the technology can manufacture any type of blade.” By increasing automation, “the need for labour decreases.”

“As a result, manufacturing does not need to be done in countries with lower labour costs,” Mr Siekmann added. “This means that production is also possible closer to the wind farms, allowing transportation costs and emissions caused by transportation to be reduced.”

Swedish start-up Modvion uses laminated veneer lumber to supply wood turbines across the EU. After signing an agreement with PEFC-certified Metsa Wood in 2023, it could become Europe’s largest consumer of LVL. (Photo Credit: Modvion)

The new trial comes more than 12 months after Swedish start-up Modvion finished work on a 150m giant turbine – comprising a 105-metre round base of laminated veneer lumber supplied by Metsa Wood. Opting to build the base with timber over steel: “Wood allows us to build higher towers at a lower cost,” according to Otto Olivegren, Modvion’s CEO, which “makes wind power more efficient since winds are stronger and more stable higher up.”

“Wood and glue is the perfect combination; we’ve known that for hundreds of years,” Mr Olivegren says. “And because using wood is lighter [than steel], you can build taller turbines with less material.”

BoredCop on February 18th, 2025 at 13:13 UTC »

Not dissing on the product or the idea, because this seems like a solid solution based on well understood and very mature construction tech developed over decades by the yacht building industry. Epoxy-laminated wood veneer is a proper engineering material with known properties, and it can be shaped almost any way you want. There's loads of data on longevity of similar structures under both static and dynamic loads by now, including in wet outdoors environments exposed to wind and UV radiation, so they didn't have to start from scratch.

However, calling it recyclable is perhaps stretching the truth a bit. The epoxy cannot easily be recycled as a material, but it can be burnt. And unlike fiberglass, of course the wood also burns. So these blades can be chopped up and burnt as fuel at end of life, rather than becoming un-degradeable landfill. Which is a big step in the right direction of course, just maybe not quite what most people think "recyclable" means.

petdance on February 18th, 2025 at 12:43 UTC »

Why do blades have a 25-year life expectancy? Do they degrade somehow?

Edit: I’m not disputing the article. Asking, not challenging.

megatronchote on February 18th, 2025 at 12:36 UTC »

We should have some Dutch engineers supervising this.